Chapter 12
He sighed, suppressing his irritation, and tapped to call her back.
Just as the line started to ring, two panicked voices came shouting from down the hall.
*****
At that very moment, in the hospital.
“Hello? Hi, is this Ms. Warren’s husband?” the nurse asked over the phone. “We’re calling from Trurgh City Hospital. You’re listed as her emergency contact. Your wife is in critical condition, and-”
She spoke for nearly a minute, but the other end was completely silent. She looked down and realized the phone had died–it had powered off mid–call.
*****
“Dad! Something’s wrong! Phoebe’s in trouble!”
“Phoebe’s dying! Dad, hurry–please help her!”
Josh and Rowena came racing into the study, panic written all over their little faces.
“What happened?” Vance narrowed his eyes and got up, striding quickly toward the bedroom.
On the bed, Phoebe lay flushed and trembling. Red rashes
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Chapter 12
had broken out all over her arms and neck.
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Her eyes were glossy with tears, her voice so weak it barely came out. “Van. Vance, am I. dying?”
Josh hurried to explain, “She started itching all over, and now there are rashes wherever the pajamas touched her skin!”
‘Those pajamas were made by Mom. Could she have done this on purpose?‘ Josh wondered.
‘No,’ he quickly shook the thought away. ‘There’s no way. Mom didn’t even know Phoebe is going to wear them.‘
But before he could say anything else, Rowena blurted out the suspicion aloud.
Vance’s face darkened like a thundercloud.
Just a few days ago, Phoebe had realized she’d forgotten her pajama set in Zrefast. So she borrowed the pair Estela had left behind.
The kids had seen her wearing them and begged to join in, pulling him into it too.
It was just a set of pajamas. He hadn’t thought it was a big deal–until now.
Expression grim, Vance pulled out his phone and dialed Estela’s number.
But to his surprise, the line went straight to voicemail. “The number you’re calling is powered off.”
His jaw clenched, fury flashing across his face as he gripped the phone tightly.
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‘She turned off her phone? Blocked me? Estela, I’ve clearly spoiled you too much,’ he thought.
Phoebe’s breathing grew labored, her chest rising and falling rapidly.
The kids were pacing in a panic, nearly in tears.
Vance stepped to the bed in a single stride and scooped her up into his arms.
“I’ll hold Estela accountable,” he said coldly. “I’ll make sure you get the explanation you deserve.”
Rain fell over Trurgh all through the night. The light outside the operating room flickered on–then off again.
By the time dawn broke, Estela slowly opened her heavy eyelids. The feverish heat and pain still lingered in her body.
“Ms. Warren, it was a viral infection. Thankfully, you got here just in time. Any later and it could’ve turned into pneumonia, which can be life–threatening,” the young nurse said as she came by to change Estela’s bandage. She handed her a phone, now fully charged.
“We tried contacting your husband last night, but we couldn’t get through. Called several times, and then his phone died. You should probably let him know what happened–your family must be worried sick.”
Estela’s expression didn’t waver, but inside, her chest tightened.
She forced a faint smile. “Thank you.”
“When everything’s perfect at home, who has time to answer
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my calls?‘ she thought.
She even wondered, ‘If I had actually died on the operating table, would Vance have cared? Even for a second?”
The only thought that still broke her heart was her children- Rowena and Josh. Kids without a mother, especially in a world like theirs, life would only get harder.
She turned her phone on and was surprised to see a missed call from Vance.
Just then, Rowena’s custom ringtone began to play.
Her expression softened slightly as she answered
immediately. “Hello? Rowena? No school today? Wait–did you two already come back to-”
“Mom.” Rowena cut her off coldly, her voice sharp and full of fury. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? Because of you, Phoebe almost died!”
Estela’s breath caught. “Rowena, what are you talking about?”
But Rowena’s voice only grew louder, more frantic. “The doctor said she had a severe allergic reaction–to your pajam
Dad stayed up all night taking care of her. If it
or the mugwort in your sleepwear, she wouldn’t have up in critical condition! You nearly killed her! Why
sn’t it you lying in that hospital bed instead?”
Hearing Rowena–her own flesh and blood–curse her like that, Estela felt like her entire body was being sliced apart by a hundred rusted blades,
Mugwort. She remembered now.
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Chapter 12
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When Rowena and Josh were born, both of them had frail health. Mugwort, a gentle herbal remedy, was the only medicinal scent they could tolerate during their treatments.
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